Skills for Care wrest training money from councils

Skills for Care has demanded control of more than £100m allocated to local authorities for training in order to give it to the independent sector.

The social care workforce development body claimed the move was necessary because English councils were not spending enough of the money they were given for training on the sector.

Three-quarters of the social care workforce are employed by the voluntary and private sectors according to government estimates. But a survey last year found only one-third of the £147.5m allocated for training in 2006-7 was spent on independent organisations. Skills for Care chair Donald Hoodless said the independent sector was missing out on millions. If the money was split in proportion the sector would receive a budget worth £110m.